Marion Nicoll | Sources & Resources

Marion Nicoll began exhibiting her early paintings in exhibitions organized by artist-member associations such as the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour and the Alberta Society of Artists. During the 1930s, Alberta’s art community was so deeply exclusionary that some of her first exhibitions were with other female artists outside of these societies, such as the exhibition collective Women Sketch Hunters of Alberta. Nicoll considered her decorative arts a parallel practice to her work as a painter, and she exhibited batiks and metal work throughout Alberta and Canada, and in Belgium. During her lifetime, Nicoll was honoured with several important exhibitions, including her first solo show of paintings held in Calgary in 1959 featuring her work from a year spent in New York, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. She was honoured with a retrospective exhibition curated by artists John Hall and Ron Moppett, organized by the Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta, in 1975. Scholarly attention to her practice has been largely posthumous. Her first critically significant exhibition was organized by the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, in 1986, and in 2013 a second retrospective exhibition and publication were organized by the Nickle Galleries and the University of Calgary Press.

Marion Nicoll standing before *February 1967*, 1967, in 1969, photographer unknown, Glenbow Museum, Calgary.

Marion Nicoll sketching at Sunshine, Banff Summer Session, 1946, photographer unknown, Glenbow Archives, Calgary.

Selected Exhibitions

1936

November 30, 1936, Women Sketch Hunters of Alberta, Civic Block, Edmonton, Alberta (three works). Nicoll’s first known group-artist exhibition.

1937

April 1937, Tenth Annual Exhibition, Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, Art Gallery of Toronto, Grange Park. Nicoll’s first group-artist national exhibition.

1957–58

June 1957, First National Fine Crafts Exhibition, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Travelled to the Canadian Pavilion in the Universal and International Exhibition, Brussels, Belgium, 1958. Nicoll’s first time exhibiting internationally one of her metal works, the jewelled pin Plateau.

1959–60

December 7–19, 1959, M.Nicoll ’59. East Block, Provincial Institute of Technology and Art—Art Gallery. Subsequent Calgary venues included Bowness Town Hall, February 13–20, 1960 and the Gallery of the Allied Arts Centre, Calgary, March 13–April 2, 1960. Nicoll’s first solo exhibition (twenty abstract paintings).

1962

Dates unknown in 1962, Albertacraft ’62 (fourteen works, thirteen jewelry).

1963

December 6–19, 1963, M. Nicoll, Allied Arts Centre, 830-9th Avenue S.W., Calgary. Nicoll’s second solo exhibition in Calgary (thirty-three works).

1963–64

September 20–October 27, 1963, 5th Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting 1963, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, opened in London, England. Curated by J. Russell Harper. Travelled to: Public Library and Art Museum, London (Ontario), November 8–December 1, 1963; Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, December 13, 1963–January 5, 1964; Winnipeg Art Gallery, January 17–February 9, 1964; Vancouver Art Gallery, February 21–March 15, 1964; Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, March 27–April 19, 1964; Musée de la Province du Québec, April 23–May 10, 1964; and Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, May 19–June 7, 1964. Nicoll was included for the first time in this national survey with the painting Winter Sun (location unknown).

1965–66

June 4–August 2, 1965, Sixth Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting 1965. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Curated by William Townsend. Travelled to: Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick, September 8–October 3, 1965; Musée d’art contemporain, Montréal, Quebec, October 21–November 14, 1965; London Art Gallery, Ontario, November 26–December 19, 1965; Norman McKenzie Art Gallery, January 7–February 6, 1966; Edmonton Art Gallery, February 23–March 20, 1966; Vancouver Art Gallery, British Columbia, April 1–May 1, 1966; Winnipeg Art Gallery Association, Manitoba, May 13–June 5, 1966. Nicoll was included for the second time in this national survey with the painting Waiting, 1964 (location unknown).

October 18–23, 1965, Paintings by Marion Nicoll, Western Canadian Art Circuit, Trail Art Club. Curated by Harry Kiyooka. Toured to: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, November 22–December 5, 1965; Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta, March 28–April 15, 1966; Kelowna Art Exhibit Society, Okanagan Regional Library, Kelowna, B.C.; Regina Public Library, Regina, Saskatoon, June 7–28, 1966. Nicoll’s first exhibition to tour Western Canada (twelve works).

1967

April 15–May 4, 1967, Marion Nicoll, Bonli Gallery, Toronto (twelve works). First commercial solo exhibition in Central Canada including one of her batiks.

1968

July 5–September 1, 1968, Seventh Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Curated by William Chapin Seitz. This was the last biennial exhibition for which there was no subsequent tour and Nicoll exhibited January ’68, 1968 (see Key Works).

1971

March 9–20, 1971, Jim and Marion Nicoll Paintings, University of Calgary Art Gallery, Theatre Gallery (nine works).

1972–73

November 19, 1972–January 12, 1973. Retrospective Exhibition of Graphics by Marion Nicoll, A.S.A., Strathcona Place, Edmonton, Alberta. This first exhibition of prints included works from 1960–1972 (thirty-six prints).

1975

May 30–June 29, 1975, Marion Nicoll: A Retrospective, 1959–1971, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta; also shown at Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Calgary, Alberta, July 22–August 17, 1975. This was Nicoll’s first retrospective of abstract paintings and prints. Curated by the artist collective “Duck Ventures” (aka Ron Moppett and John Hall, both of Calgary). Catalogue published (fifty-three works).

1978

February 28, 1978, Marion Nicoll, R.C.A., Masters Gallery, Calgary. The first of two exhibitions celebrating Nicoll’s election to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

December 6, 1978, Marion Nicoll, R.C.A., Masters Gallery, Calgary. The exhibition is followed by the release of J. Brooks Joyner’s Marion Nicoll, R.C.A. published by Masters Gallery including Nicoll’s last print, Self-Portrait, 1979, in an edition of 215.

1986

April 5–June 9, 1986, Marion Nicoll: Art and Influences, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta. Curated by Christopher Jackson. Travelled to: Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, August 23–October 26, 1986. This was Nicoll’s second major public art gallery exhibition and the first survey of her art practice, but it did not include any of her design work (eighty-five works). Catalogue published.

2013

January 25–April 27, 2013, Marion Nicoll: A Retrospective, Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary. Curated by Ann Davis and Elizabeth Herbert with Jennifer Salahub. This was the second major retrospective exhibition of Nicoll’s work and the first scholarly exhibition and catalogue to assess Nicoll’s multidisciplinary career including her works in fabric and metal arts. Related book published.

Writings by the Artist

Nicoll, Marion. Batik. Edmonton: Cultural Activities Branch, Department of Economic Affairs, Government of the Province of Alberta (1953): 15 pages.

Nicoll, Marion. “Crafts in the Community: An Outline of What can be Achieved in Crafts with Good Design Instruction.” Leisure: Cultural Activities Magazine II, no. 3 (September 1960): 15–18.

Nicoll, Marion. “The Four Greatest Artists.” Highlights: Quarterly Magazine of the Alberta Society of Artists 5, no. 4 (March 1952), unpaginated.

Nicoll, Marion. “Monotypes.” Highlights: Quarterly Magazine of the Alberta Society of Artists 4, no. 2 (March 1951), unpaginated.

Critical, Scholarly and Monographic Writings on the Artist

Cover of *Marion Nicoll: Silence and Alchemy* (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2013).

Cover of *Marion Nicoll: Art and Influences* (Calgary: Glenbow Museum and Art Gallery, 1986).

Davis, Ann. “Silence and Alchemy: The Development of Marion Nicoll.” In Marion Nicoll: Silence and Alchemy, 1–35. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2013.

Herbert, Elizabeth. “Marion Nicoll and the Sublime.” In Marion Nicoll: Silence and Alchemy, 37–67. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2013.

Jackson, Christopher. Marion Nicoll: Art and Influences. Calgary: Glenbow Museum and Art Gallery, 1986. Exhibition catalogue.

Joyner, J. Brooks. Foreword by Janet Mitchell and Preface by Peter Ohler. Marion Nicoll. Calgary: Masters Gallery, 1979. Collector’s Edition, 215 volumes, each volume accompanied by an original clay print specially executed, signed, and numbered by Marion Nicoll.

Mastin, Catharine M. Beyond “The Artist’s Wife”: Women in Artist-Couple Marriage and the Exhibition Experience in Postwar Canada. PhD dissertation, University of Alberta, 2012.

Pashak, Natasha. Almost Outnumbered: The role of Alberta in the life and work of Marion Nicoll. Master of Arts (Art History) thesis, Concordia University, 2010.

Salahub, Jennifer. “Mine Had a Ripple in It.” In Marion Nicoll: Silence and Alchemy, 69–108. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2013.

Key Interviews with the Artist

Cover of *Marion Nicoll, R.C.A.* (Calgary: Masters Gallery, 1978). Nicoll’s last print, *Self Portrait*, 1979, was included in a limited edition of 215 released in 1979.

“Interview with Jim and Marion Nicoll,” June 9, 1972, Arts and Crafts Division, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton.

“An Interview with Jim and Marion Nicoll,” Helen K. Wright (audio) and Ingrid Mercer (video), January 29, 1973, X20-14 and X20-15, Glenbow, Calgary, M6522, file 21.

“Marion Nicoll in Conversation with Duck Ventures,” in Marion Nicoll: A Retrospective, 1959-1971. Edmonton: Edmonton Art Gallery, 1975.

“Joan Murray talking to Marion Nicoll,” May 24, 1979, Robert McLaughlin Gallery Archives (typescript), Library and Archives of Canada (audio recording).

“Marion Nicoll in Interview with Laura Chrumka,” 1982 Junior League Women’s Oral History Project, RCT-403, Glenbow, Calgary.

Sources & Resources